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Emotions ran Depp for our versatile cover matey who sailed from Pirates of the Caribbean into Once Upon a Time in Mexico (#729, Sept. 19). ”Thank you so much for giving Johnny Depp his due,” raves Bobbie Kahklen of Juneau, Alaska. ”Chris Nashawaty did well attempting to capture Johnny’s wonderfully complex personality.” But Larry Fahey of Jamaica Plain, Mass., had a different idea about the actor’s eclectic choices: ”My theory is that Depp chooses his roles not by their quirkiness, but by the hair length they will allow him. He’s a hair actor. He flips it. He pushes it behind one ear, then the other. Take the hair gestures away, and you’re left with no emotional dimension, no originality, no nothing.” In contrast, Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s new CD left Howard Tin of Springfield, Ill., with quite a bit: ”I take issue with Chris Willman’s uninformed review of Greendale. With the music stripped down to raw garage-band sound, this is Neil’s Sgt. Pepper.” And Young hopes you will enjoy the show!

Johnny on the Spot

My mailbox is still smoldering from your Johnny Depp cover. (Even my husband did a double take.) That head shot proves you don’t have to take all of your clothes off to be sexy! Wow! DEBRA ESTABROOK RICH d.rich@cox.net Aliso Viejo, Calif.

With the coolest pistolero this side of the North Pole on your cover, I had an instant and complete geek attack. It’s awesome to see Johnny get the widespread positive exposure and appreciation he’s deserved all along. Willy Wonka? Hell, yeah. BEN ISAAC codenamesnakeeyes@hotmail.com Haslett, Mich.

What with sailing into port on the prow of the summer’s best live-action film, Pirates of the Caribbean, and then snatching Once Upon a Time in Mexico away from his hammy costars like a slippery bandito, don’t you think Johnny Depp has a really good chance of being chosen as EW’s 2003 Entertainer of the Year? I think you do. SCOTT GREENE Chicago

Are you kidding? After all of Johnny Depp’s anti-American drivel you put him on the cover?! Please! I couldn’t bring myself to open it. RAY ALANSO rayala@twcny.rr.com Watertown, N.Y.

Riddle Playing

What an absolutely beautiful and touching story (”The Riddle of Fame”). I hope Hal Riddle knows that he inspired this struggling actress to remember that while we may not get everything we hope for in life, there are little miracles along the way that fulfill us more than success or fame ever could. GINA EGGER gegger75@hotmail.com Los Angeles

Film reviews. Stupid questions. Dalton Ross. These are the reasons I read EW. However, the touching article about Hal Riddle reminded me why this magazine continues to surpass my expectations and keeps me coming back for more. This glimpse into one man’s life serves to remind how Hollywoodland continues to mesmerize the 11-year-old in all of us. Brava. ANNA GONZALEZ annagonzalez@hotmail.com Madison, Wis.

Learning to Share

File sharing is here to stay (News & Notes). The Electronic Frontier Foundation (www.eff.org) and Boycott-RIAA (www.boycott-riaa.com) have solutions that could help artists get paid without changing the basic nature of P2P. The RIAA has two options: embrace file sharing through compulsory licensing or a fee on ISP bills and reap hundreds of millions of dollars, or continue suing and alienating consumers. The RIAA is fighting an endless whack-a-mole game that it can only lose. P. RUSSEL Issaquah, Wash.